


Be who you are

by Rogercat



Category: TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms, The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Ancestors, F/M, Family, Family Issues, Gen, Gondor, Grandparents & Grandchildren, Growing Old, Growing Up, One Shot, Promises, Rivendell | Imladris
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-18
Updated: 2017-10-18
Packaged: 2019-01-19 00:49:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12399687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rogercat/pseuds/Rogercat
Summary: Arwen may be said to look like Luthien, but in the end, she was her own person





	Be who you are

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MayLovelies](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MayLovelies/gifts).



**Be who you are**

  
  


It is pretty understandable that family will be mentioned in history lessons, be they distant kin already long dead or far away in Valinor. But Arwen is not too fond of being likened to Luthien when it comes to her looks. Sure, grandfather Celeborn says that her hair colour is more like a really dark brown than the black hair Luthien wore, and her eyes are more towards the blue than truly grey. 

 

Thankfully, she is not the only one. Elladan and Elrohir at times suffer from people being insensitive when asking aloud if they may be grandmother Elwing's twin brothers Eluréd and Elurín reborn. Judging from the look of cold fury Ada Elrond tends to glare at people for that kind of question, it is not very wise. He even have mentioned himself that he and uncle Elros was believed the same, at least until that grandpa Maglor and great-uncle Maedhros set a firm line over that their young wards were their persons and not the reborn lost princes of Doriath. 

 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

 

Arwen know that grandpa Maglor wanders around, rarely passing by Imladris where she lives, and that Ada have requested her to not ask questions if it peace and quiet grandpa needs. 

 

“Why are not grandpa Maglor living with us, Nana?” she asks one evening, as her mother Celebrian brushes her hair. 

 

“His past have made him uncomfortable to stay around people for too long, dearie. But you shall know that even if he is not around, he is still here in a sense.”

 

That much is true. Ada Elrond tries to heal an old burn mark on grandpa's hand every time he is here, giving him new clothing and food so he is not so thin from starvation. 

 

“If I ever marries, I want Grandpa to be the one to sing at my wedding!” Arwen says, recalling the lovely harp music Maglor still can create if he have the right mood during a visit.

 

“Then Ada and I will need to catch him before the wedding, and freshen him up so he does not look like a beggar.” Celebrian smiles, finishing the brushing of her daughter before bed. 

 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

 

As Arwen grows up to be an adult, she often confesses to Maglor during his rare visits that at times, she wishes that Luthien was not her ancestor. 

 

“It is mostly the older generations, those who survived the Fall of Doriath alongside my maternal grandparents, who keeps seeing Luthien in me instead of myself.” 

 

“I admit that you are very alike her, but from my view, it is the Noldor blood in you which I see. I see the hair of my aunt Anairë, and I see the blue eyes of my cousin Turgon's wife Elenwë though their daughter Idril in you. Do not see just Luthien, dear Evenstar, but those other ladies you are a descendant of. Honor them instead of just not one female ancestor alone,” Maglor responds in a voice filled with memories. 

 

Those words are exactly what Arwen needs to hear.

 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

 

Falling in love with Aragorn is unexpected, yet somehow, she feels drawn to him in a different manner than any other possible husband. It is not the idea of follow in Luthien's footsteps when it comes to love, but a chance to help him bring Gondor to its former glory and bring a golden age. 

 

Ada Elrond proves himself wiser than Thingol in the matter of their love, and both sees the point of his request of Aragorn becoming King of Gondor and Arnor before marrying her: Any married couple deserves a safe place to bring up their future children, and the wildness is not that kind of place. Any father would fear for his daughter, if her future husband could not offer a safe life. 

 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

 

Maglor keeps a promise from her childhood, and at her wedding to Aragorn in Gondor, for the first time in nearly two Ages, the grandest Singer of the Noldor is heard using his powerful voice again. He asks the Valar to bless the kingdom, and its new royal family. 

  
  


It is with great sadness that Arwen sees her father for the last time after her wedding, but she promises to write yearly letters, placing those in a casket with memories of her children which her brothers can bring along to Valinor, until that she dies. 

 

She carries two daughters before the birth of her only son Eldarion, following two younger ones. All four girls are named after strong female ancestors, both mortal and immortal. They shall have a lineage to be proud of, not only thinking of the famed Luthien. 

  
  


When it is time for her to pass away on the hill of Cerin Amroth in Lothlorien, where Aragorn once offered her to become his future Queen so long ago, Maglor is with her. It is his sad singing, with her head in his lap as a last comfort in life, which becomes the last thing she hears in this mortal body before answering the call to the Halls of Mandos where she will follow the Path of Men.  


End file.
